Currency, Taxes and Tipping

Currency

The legal currency is the Canadian dollar, which is divided into 100 cents. Bills are available in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 dollars. Coins are available in denominations of 5, 10 and 25 cents, plus 1 and 2 dollars. Canadian and US currencies are not at parity. US currency is accepted at most places with varying exchange rates. Consult theBank of Canada Website for exchange rates. To avoid any inconvenience, we recommend that visitors obtain Canadian currency at the official exchange rate at a financial institution or travel agency when they arrive.

Taxes

The federal goods and services tax (GST) of 5% and the Quebec sales tax (QST) of 9.975% are added to all purchases. Taxes are subject to change. For more information, visit the websites of theCanada Revenue Agency and theMinistère du Revenu du Québec.

Tipping

In Canada, tips are not included on restaurant bills, but are left to the customer’s discretion. A tip of 15% of the total cost before taxes is recommended. We suggest you do the same for taxis.